NEXX NF-850: two hours of laughter included!

Oddly enough, but MP3-players based on flash memory continue to develop rapidly – in the main players are constantly out new models. It would seem that the new can come up with – the music in various formats lose, show videos, FM-radio take. While really nothing new has been invented, so the producers have only one thing – functionality of previous models to put into a new shell with the new administration. Let this bitter, but true.

The content within a

However, the ways to attract customers to their interest in multimedia products, each company has its own. Thus, in Nexx Digital Model NF-850 player decided to provide videos Comedy Club. This choice was made, apparently, only for the novelty of the Russian market, and placed it on purpose. First, the ex-KVN schiki from Comedy Club today are the ancestors of the new youth style that clearly outlines the potential audience for the NF-850. In addition, the incredible popularity of Comedy, along with fame Nexx Digital, might be a good “strike force” of the target audience. Second, the glossy black NF-850 with a bright red button illumination seems to be specially created for Comedy.

Content for mobile devices today enjoys a very high demand. For example, for cell phones included in this concept, and ringtones, and pictures, and videos, and more. And for MP3-players is such a thing had never injected. So why not sell these devices have already recorded music or videos? So, apparently, thought to Nexx Digital, with the result that there was “superpozitivny player,” as they called the NF-850, for the already written to him two oclock broadcasts Comedy Club.

We will try to find out how innovation justifies its cost, based on functionality, ease of management and other indicators, it is much more important for the average user than a couple of videos “as a gift.”

Brief specifications

Completion

A box with a device made in two shades of black – stylish and attractive.

Inside, apart from the player, we found the following set of accessories: stereo earbuds with soft lining, lace for attaching the player to the neck, interface cable, audio cable for the implementation of a new feature audio, CD with software, as well as more Russian-language instruction manual.

It should be noted that the equipment at the NF-850 is not the richest. However, the cover, for example, included no, not for reasons of economy, but, as we shall see later, from the design features.

Design and appearance

Sleek body design resembles the previous model NF-810, we tested at the end of 2006 (http://www.3dnews.ru/multimedia/nexx_mp3/index2.htm). The glossy black plastic, the minimum thickness, the same basic arrangement of the display and controls. However, the latest NF-850 differs significantly from the brethren. At first glance, the control buttons have no news! Is that a small power button on the upper face of the body.

But after the players all the right buttons (seven pieces) suddenly appear under the display, indicating the presence of bright red light.

As youve probably guessed, the management of a new sensor. Therefore, complete with a player we did not find the cover – very difficult to develop a case that allows the user to easily control the player

On the right side edge there is another button – sliding lock button Hold. Here, only the lower part is recessed deep into the body of general reset button Reset, which you can get to some sharp object, such as a needle.

On the upper bound, except for the already mentioned buttons Power, there is a hole, behind which hides a built-in microphone, as well as the mount for the cervical cord.

Connectors for NF-850 are located on the bottom. Despite the fact that the novelty was very thin, the manufacturer has managed to put on it the most common interface for headphones – mini-jack 3,5 mm. A connector for connecting the player to the computer, a custom, so that in case of loss of lace, the user has any difficulties. In addition, NF-850 is no separate audio input. However, the audio is implemented through the interface connector. For this purpose, as we have explained above, the bundle includes a special cable, one end of which a normal mini-jack 3,5 mm, and the other – corporate interface connector.

Design of NF-850 gives a very good impression – a stylish and effective. In addition, the build quality of the player is very high – there is no creaks, no backlash. And the quality of the materials from which the shell is also worthy of top marks – the player a pleasure to hold in their hands. But what is new in the administration – is another question to which we now turn …

Work with a player

Included is the player pretty quickly – about five seconds, for which the user is watching a small animated screensaver.

Touch control first enters into a stupor – not because it is something very unusual, unusual, but because they realized it was not the best way. The whole point of sensitivity buttons – they are too tight. The first time it is impossible fingertips to press the button. After a little play with a player, you find some specific points of contact – the little finger podognesh then stuknesh nail on the button. In this paper a new product constantly have to use some tricks. But even after a week of use all the same, now and then, suddenly, the player suddenly stops responding to commands – change the position of a finger or a knock on the button with a fingernail, and everything is working again!

The menu player has nine main points, each of which is decorated in a separate page with a large icon in the center of the display. Everything looks nice, but not too functional. First, because prior to any menu item can only be reached in two ways – scroll forward or backward. Secondly, because when scrolling does not know what the next item. And as for management of multiple NF-850 tugovato, it often flies past the desired point – you have to go back.

But the menu itself looks quite logical: each mode of operation is decorated in your page, all your settings are gathered in a single tab. The Russian translation is also very well-made, though somewhat confused by the font (size of a traditional jumping letters), as well as the fact that in some places the translated word does not fit in the allotted place in the English-language menu (for some reason the producers forget that every Russian words have many synonyms).

Working with music and sound

With music, fellowship NF-850 is fairly simple. Choose the appropriate menu item, choose a familiar tree of folders and files on the disc player for your favorite songs and click on the play. After that, the screen displays all the necessary information on the composition of the standard (even the bit rate), as well as the modes of operation. With the mapping of Russian names of the songs is no problem.

The user can establish the repeat mode you want – this is no problem. And with new playlists, unfortunately, can not work.

The player has eight EQ modes, seven of which are pre-installed (Normal, 3D, Rock, Pop, Classic, Bass, Jazz), and one is manually configured on each of the five bands. Other sound settings, including settings and 3D-sound, the novelty does not.

In the process, NF-850 copes with all the files it offered MP3 and WMA. But with the WAV-files, he refused to work. Of course, the manufacturer has not declared support for this format. Nevertheless, support for WAV could significantly expand the potential audience for new items. In addition, WAV-files recorded on their own player (with a microphone or line input), played on it with no problems.

The sound of regular headphones traditionally does not hold water. Specifically, they should be replaced immediately after the purchase, because they sound hollow, with the cut bass and highs.

Working with FM-radio

By selecting the appropriate menu item, we get to the page with FM-radio. The interface is designed in full accordance with the fact that we have just observed when working with music files. But managing a number of confusing – not reading the instructions, understand how to write the frequency into memory, how to search, etc., would be long. However, after a couple of days of use, difficulties arise.

Among other things, the menu on this page is not translated in the best way. Thus, there are two items with the same name, “Memory.” As it turned out, one of them is responsible for calling an extra panel on which you can search for stations to be written, and another – for switching the operating mode button forward / reverse: whether they respond to swipe or manually recorded channels are changing the operating frequency. Even after several days of using the player often forgets which of these two items, which performs the action.

Another disadvantage associated with auto-search. If you accidentally click on the item is already mentioned in the Auto menu, without asking questions such as “Yes / No” to start auto search channels, which will erase everything that you set earlier.

Settings for the radio a little bit – choose the receive mode stereo / mono, so the choice of frequency range, depending on the host country.

Reception of the NF-850 is very sensitive. Everything that catches the radio room, NF-850 accepts no problems.

Work with the record

Upon entering the corresponding menu item, the player provides the user to record any sound with built-in microphone, or with the FM-radio. In the latter case, the recording can be activated directly from the radio menu.

The record, unfortunately, is only in the format WAV, and of the quality settings you can only select “Normal” and “High” – there are no figures. In addition, the user can adjust the volume record.

Microphone sensitivity can be estimated as the average – a distance of two to three meters it works relatively well, but the noise is.

Working with photos and videos, and display capabilities

Whatever is said about the manufacturer of options for viewing photos and videos with NF-850, as it is not advertised stored in the memory clips Comedy Club, and the color 65 thousand colors to ensure a pleasant browsing is not enough. As a result, the bright colors in the photographs may fade, and the various details recorded video may disappear from the screen – dissolve into the background colors.

But before you view the multimedia content on the display NF-850, it must be converted. To do this on a disc player, there are two programs – Movie Convertor to work with video, and the Image Convertor to work with photos. Both programs have a similar, intuitive interface, very easy to use, though the English language. In fact, the user can immediately begin to convert the files because the program is configured optimally.

True, some of the nuances of this process will have to experience, even for beginners. For example, previously in any editor is the best way to deploy photography, taking into account survey was conducted in portrait or landscape mode. The display at the NF-850 extended, and if the pictures in portrait mode will be located across the display, it is compressed to such an extent that to make out any details on it will be impossible.

JPEG files compress to about 11-15 kb, and have a resolution of 128 x 160 pixels. If the aspect ratio does not correspond to the proportions of the display space is filled with light-brown color. A test video format AVI, duration 18 min 43 sec and 175 MB in size (codec XVID, image size 608 x 352), has been compressed with Movie Convertor up to 78 MB (the size of the image 160:128). The compression process took about three minutes. In this test we used the following configuration: Intel Pentium 4 2.8 GHz, the platform Gigabyte GA-8I915G-MF, the video card Radeon X550 128 MB Memory 1024 MB PC3200, running Windows XP Pro Rus SP2.

Also not too many colors, and other defects in the display could not be found – a very decent viewing angles, brightness adjustable in a wide range.

Reading books

Most modern MP3-players have acquired the function of reading e-books in format TXT. NF-850 – is no exception. Text files are in Russian and English, he reads without a problem. Font shown is quite readable – the display is placed nine lines with the text from the file. The only thing annoying – it is lack of the normal behavior of hyphenation.

Games

In the game menu choice, certainly not rich – just Tetris. Perhaps in the new versions of firmware will be added to the game, but as long as the user can only wait.

The nice thing about Flash NF-850 is that the player can reflash. In our sample was a firmware version 01.01.1533 24 April 2007.

For flash, you can use a separate menu item in the player or the computer to install a small program Refresh Firmware 2.7.4 from the supplied disk, designed for quick firmware upgrade the player.